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A look at Oilers' bad luck with recent top draft picks

NHL, Edmonton Oilers

The bad luck for the Edmonton Oilers continues. The franchise's prized pick of the 2015 NHL draft, Connor McDavid, will be sidelined for a while with a broken clavicle after crashing into the boards Tuesday.

McDavid was on a roll

On Monday, McDavid was named NHL Rookie of the Month for October after leading all first-year players with 12 points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McDavid's 12 points were the most by any Oilers rookie in the month of October.

McDavid's 12 points last month were even more than Wayne Gretzky scored in October of his first NHL season in 1979 (10). Gretzky wasn't considered a "rookie" when he and the Oilers joined the NHL from the WHA during the 1979-80 season.

Oilers top out in bad luck

The Oilers have made four first overall picks this decade. The three prior to McDavid all missed double digits in games due to an injury during either their rookie or second season, and it appears McDavid will follow suit:

• Nail Yakupov, the first overall pick in 2012. In his second NHL season, he suffered an ankle injury March 18, 2014, which caused him to miss 13 games. In 94 games since that injury, Yakupov is a minus-34 and has recorded 43 points.

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in 2011. In his rookie season, Nugent-Hopkins injured his left shoulder and missed 13 games. Before the injury, Nugent-Hopkins had 35 points in 38 games. After the injury, he had 17 points in the remaining 24 games of his rookie season.

• Taylor Hall, the first overall pick in 2010. In his rookie season, Hall suffered a high left ankle sprain and missed 17 games. Hall missed 11 games during the 2011-12 season with a concussion and shoulder surgery, and then he missed 20 games last season with a leg injury. Hall has been on the NHL's version of "injured reserve" five times in his career, missing 57 games.

When will it end?

• Prior to 2010, the Oilers had never selected a player first overall in the NHL entry draft. Since the start of the 2010-11 season (the first season with Hall), the Oilers have the NHL's worst points percentage at .411.

• In 2006, the Oilers went to the Stanley Cup finals and lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. They have not been back to the playoffs since, and they now own the NHL's longest active drought.

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